Do's and dont's for a "living room" coop? Building housing indoors?

[aoxa]

I don't see a huge issue if you have a special room for them.. Don't let them out of the room unless you supervise, because what if they jumped up on your counters while you were away? I've kept all kinds of animals, and I can tell you this now, chickens are cleaner than any litter of puppies I've raised. Just keep up the chores. Don't let the negative things people say bring you down. I totally understand you love for your chickens. Mine are as special to me as my cats and dogs.

They do sell chicken diapers as well

Just make sure they get outdoor time. It's very important.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

The tremendous amount of feather dander fully feathered chickens produce is what I find so hard to deal with. The chicks are bad enough! I know NOTHING of parrots except that they like to bathe in water - regularly, as do so many other bird species that fly. I can't help but wonder if the fact that chickens like to bathe in dust (and despise water) whilst the others bathe in water contributes to the feather dander and makes them less than ideal house pets. Makes me wonder if their skin/feathers are built just a bit differently.

 

[pm]

At the hospital where my wife works, the "senior living" wing has an aviary in their day room. It is a plexiglass enclosure with about a 4' x 8' footprint, floor to ceiling high, and houses many small birds. There probably is not the amount of dust that would be generated by chickens, but this could be helped by building an air exchanger, using a couple computer fans and a furnace filter. If I lived in an apartment or absolute no chicken property, I'd probably be just about nuts enought to try it. I wouldn't do it using a wire enclosure though. A few weeks with a brooder in the living room is enough for me.

Go for it with good luck,
Paul

 

[al6517]

To the folks who advocate house chickens............. do you not worry about what your friends relitives and neighbors think of the smell and the idea of you keeping house chickens, and what about those of you that have kids with allergies. I do have a friend who keeps 2 house chickens and as much as she say's it's clean and how often she cleans the cages and there isn't a smell........ she is dead wrong........... it stinks to high heaven in her house but she doesn't smell it because she is used to it. I tell her everytime I come over that it stinks but she doesn't care as I am sure is the same attitude as many of the other house chicken huggers feel.
I know alot of folks who are of the mind that they don't care what other people think and that's fine, But don't you worry in the slightest bit that people think this is very odd and that you might have some issues. You should and can do whatever you want with your chickens, but it is still very unhealthy and a little weird IMHO.

 

[bullyforme]

I'm very curious to those who do keep their chickens in the house (especially the Serama owner), how will they get exercise? One thing I thought of was setting up a giant dog crate sans bottom grid out in the grass, and putting them in there for a couple of hours on nicer days.

I wish I could keep mine in the house but they've always been outdoors (since they were pullets anyway) and they'd be miserable. Plus they love free ranging in my back yard.

With winter coming it's a tempting thought...after all they won't be free ranging in three feet of snow, they'll be cooped up anyway...they're very small bantams, they'd fit fine in our giant wire crate and have room to stretch their wings...I'd save $$ on heating the coop & water dish...but then I think of the dust and smell and...nah.

I have contemplated setting them up in the basement for the winter, however.

 

[gale65]

Quote:
If you're trying to offend me you didn't. I won't have a cat in the house anymore. I said that I have in the past but now we prefer not to have any pets inside (except 2 fish).

 

[auto5man]

I agree with those thinking this is a bad idea...and I do have one (1 out of my 8 birds) "house" chicken, but she free ranges outside all day with the flock. Then at night when the rest go roost, she comes to the back porch door and pecks on the glass to be let inside to roost. It's a long story.

Anyway, we raised 6 chicks for about 3 weeks in a rubbermaid on our cofee table, and all the negatives people have mentioned are true. Surprising amount of dust for 6 small chicks, between the scratching and flapping around quite a bit got stirred up. Next I kept them on the back porch (was planning to keep this as their coop location) in the brooder coop, but the flies soon made me realize... that close to the house was bad! Anyway, my vote is no coop in house and by my experiences you can see I'm not the close-minded type.

 

[<3 N.C Chicken Chick <3]

It really depends on the type of chickens you get I heard silkies can go indoors vs Full sized chickens. But all chickens in general would be more happy and be of better health outside. You sound like an animal lover also

I love my chickens and they are not verry far away from the house at all. they sit and watch t.v. sometimes with me. My dogs will never be full outside dogs either lol . Good luck to you and your chickens

 

[pinkfoxfarm]

i have a friend with 2 house hens, (1 silkie and one ee bantam hen)
he keeps them in one of

its at the end of his couch, set up as an end table, inside he made a 12" deep plastic tray out of that coroplast stuff to custom fit it and nesting box out of another peice (its 3 sides), he added a roost and tada.

he does clean it out every day using a small shop vac he bought specifically for that job (he simply vacumes everything up each morning into the shop vac, then dumps it outside and once a week or so gives it a hose down a d a spritz with bleach solution)
he doesnt use alot of bedding, just a couple inches of shavings (the tray is deep so they dont get kicked everywhere) and a handfull of straw for the nest box.

it works perfectly for his 2 bantam girls BUT i must add that he works from home, both hens are "diaper trained" and are only "crated" at night and when hes not home.
they also have a outdoor 10x10 covered chainlink dog run off the main livingroom that they have free acess to via a cat flap...yes...you heard me...and yes...they use it!)

if you dont look closely youd swear it was just a fancy end table...look cloer and youd think its a dog crate...youd NEVER guess he had house chickens living in his livingroom...
and no odor either, but again he cleans it out DAILY.

during moult season he actually vacumes the girls daily too, they dont seem to mind it and just sit in his lap while he does it...keeps the dust down, he'll also run a small ionizer for an hour or 2 each day during bad moults but says since they started living indoors full time, they dont seem to moult as bad anymore

i dont htink it woudl work for most people...but if your iwlling to be meticulous about keeping a small pen clean and there not going to be in it 24/7 and your willing to diaper change...it can work

i also have another friend with house ducks and yet another friend with a house goose!

the friend with chickens had 5 but lost all but these 2 to a neighborhood stray pack of 3 dogs that scaled his 6 foot fence and tore apart his chicken tractor...he managed to bring these 2 back from the brink and since then hes too afraid to let them be full time outside hens and they lay better than ever lol...the hens are happy, hes happy...not my place to judge!
and theyve now been house chickens for about 3 1/2 years! so its not like this is a new venture for him and hes just starting out...honestly youd never guess he had et chickens in the house untill you was the girls running aroudn with their diapers on...though his silkie hen does have an obsession with his cat!

personally im a "pets are family and you dont make family live in the yard" kinda gal so i can see why, after becomming so attatched there less livestock and more pets and why he would want them inside...

 

[Omran]

Quote:
I respect what you are thinking, but trust me chicken inside the living room is just a bad Idea.